Stags owners have every faith in Flitcroft to achieve glory

Despite being unable to get Mansfield Town over the promotion line this season, club owner John Radford and CEO Carolyn Radford said they have full belief boss David Flitcroft can take the club into League One next season.

Speaking at the club’s ‘Evening With the Radfords’ night, they also revealed they interviewed four other managers, with others unable to reach an interview due to the snow that week, before deciding to stick with their favoured but most expensive candidate, Swindon town manager Flitcroft.

When Steve Evans suddenly walked out with 12 games to go, John Radford said he wanted a quick appointment.

“We had targets,” said Radford. “That week was awful- everyone was snowed in so everyone we wanted to get to see we couldn’t meet up. So some of the managers didn’t get to get to the interviews.

“But we wanted a quick appointment. We were damned if we do damned if we don’t as, if we’d left it a few weeks and given John Dempster (academy boss) a few weeks and he’d lost a few points, everyone would have been saying why didn’t you get someone in quickly who knew what he was doing?

“We said let’s get someone in this job who is doing it already.

“I wasn’t going to go for the cheap option. I wanted a manager that was already in our league, knew our players and playing our game.

“We had a shortlist and Flitcroft was our favourite – he beat us twice. But he was an expensive option as we had to go to Swindon and say can we buy your manager off you?”

He added: We didn’t only interview Flitcroft, there were four other managers we interviewed.

“But we got on with him and I think it was a massive coup to get David to come here – he is a fantastic manager. I know he will take this club places.

“Steve Evans saw his dream which was to go and manage Peterborough and he took the opportunity which we don’t agree with in this room but that’s what he went and did.

“Then David saw his dream to come and manage here, so you have to respect that.”

CEO Carolyn Radford added: “It’s very nice working with David. “He’s very transparent, very open and a very genuine person – I truly believe that.